Tigers can’t rally to beat Fort Payne
Hartselle’s baseball season ended last Friday at Fort Payne as the homestanding Wildcats swept the Tigers 16-6, 11-9 in the first round of the AHSAA Class 5A playoffs. | Randy Garrison
Hartselle’s baseball season ended last Friday at Fort Payne as the homestanding Wildcats swept the Tigers 16-6, 11-9 in the first round of the AHSAA Class 5A playoffs.
In the first game, Fort Payne led 10-0 through the first three innings. The Tigers tried to rally with Dax Gillespie’s three-run home run. Other Tigers collecting hits were Austin Spangler, Chris Brown, Kaleb Jones, Will Swann, Deacon Aldridge and Todd Gibson.
The Tigers cut the lead under 10 and kept the game going past the fifth inning, but the Wildcats pushed the lead back to 10 in the sixth inning, causing the game to end due to the mercy rule.
In the second game, Hartselle got off to a quick 5-1 lead, but the Wildcats scored a run in the fifth inning and six runs in the sixth inning to take the lead. Hartselle responded with two in the bottom half of the inning.
After Fort Payne added another run, Hartselle put together a rally to send the game into an extra inning.
Blake Slaton hit an infield single to drive in a run with the bases loaded. Aldridge tied it with a suicide squeeze that drove in another run.
However, Fort Payne’s Austin Carpenter drove in the go-ahead run and later scored to give Fort Payne the final advantage.
Hartselle still had its chances in the bottom of the eighth, as they loaded the bases.
Fort Payne closer Kevin Dempsey then struck out the next three batters to end Hartselle’s season. The Tigers finished with a 21-28 record.
